Server-Client Interaction and Information Management System

ABSTRACT

An information-sharing system includes a server in a wide-area network coupled to a data repository, software executing on the server, providing services for a first person, wherein the first person is enabled to create one or more personae stored in the data repository, at least one interactive window associated with individual ones of the personae and deployable to one or more electronic appliances, and one or more rule sets associated with individual ones of the personae, the rule sets defining and limiting server functions that may be initiated through individual ones of deployed interactive windows, the interactive windows and rule sets enabling the first person to control identity and contact information made available to users of deployed interactive windows.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of Ser. No. 11/943,834, filedNov. 21, 2007, which is a Continuation-in-Part (CIP) to application Ser.No. 11/237,269, filed on Sep. 27, 2005. Priority is claimed to thatapplication for the common disclosure. Ser. No. 11/237,269 was filed asa CIP of Ser. No. 10/888,612 filed on Jul. 9, 2004, and priority isclaimed to that application for the common disclosure in the presentapplication as well. Further, Ser. No. 11/237,269 claimed priority toProvisional application 60/677,141 filed on May 2, 2005, and the presentapplication claims priority to the provisional date for the commondisclosure. In addition, Ser. No. 10/888,612 was filed as a CIP of Ser.No. 10/765,338, filed on Jan. 26, 2004, and priority is claimed for thepresent application to that date for the common disclosure. Finally,Ser. No. 10/765,338 was disclosed in Document Disclosure 534,495 filedon Jul. 8, 2003.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is in the field of social interaction andinformation management relative to social interactions and pertainsparticularly to systems and methods enabling identity publishing andpublisher contact during business or social interaction in a securemanner protecting the identities of publishers.

2. Discussion of the State of the Art

In the field of social interaction network management, there arenetwork-based systems that exist to provide users with socialinteraction opportunities. Some social interaction networks are highlystructured and moderated networks that impose at least a few conditionson users. One typical condition imposed is that the user has to belogged into a provider site in order to interact with other usersbelonging to the same network or group.

Depending on network architecture and features, members of the groupmay, when logged into the group infrastructure, publish information likeprofile data, contact information, and general media including blogs,pictures, video, documents, etc. Some published information becomesgenerally available to the public while other information is availableto anyone who is also a member to the group and has authenticatedcorrectly. While some controls exist for publishers like abusereporting, user blocking and the like most identity protective measuresare ad hoc and up to the publisher to enforce on a case by case basis.Networks with these types of difficulties include such as Myspace™Facebook™, and others. There are very few if any measures in place toprotect identities of publishers who actively communicate with otherusers of the group accept for group email and messaging programs thatare restricted to group members having accounts with the service. Usersand publishers have to be “logged in” to communicate and are restrictedto the in-house messaging systems erected and managed for the group.

The inventor is aware of general contact systems that are network-based,which enable users who are not logged into any group or social networkto make contact with an individual that has published identityinformation where the contact parameters of the individual are maskedfrom the user. These systems, an example of which is Linkedin™ aremanaged as a network of users who simply wish to do business but do notwant users to have their email addresses or telephone numbers.Individuals such as these are most often grouped not by any socialnetwork, but by association to a business that uses the service. Thecontact mechanism is published typically on the business Web page of theuser. The location of the user's contact information is static meaningthat it cannot be readily moved to some other network location. Otherlimitations include the way that the identity and contact information ispresented for interaction.

What is clearly needed is a system and methods for enabling publishersto publish information including options for contacting them whileenabling them to enjoy freedom of distribution location of the publishedinformation and contact options in a way that provides auser-configurable level of identity protection that may extend pastcontact parameter masking. Such a system, if used widely, would greatlyreduce instances of identity abuse and other related crimes associatedwith unauthorized acquisition of identity information.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An information-sharing system is provided and includes a server in awide-area network coupled to a data repository, software executing onthe server, providing services for a first person, wherein the firstperson is enabled to create one or more personae stored in the datarepository, at least one interactive window associated with individualones of the personae and deployable to one or more electronicappliances, and one or more rule sets associated with individual ones ofthe personae, the rule sets defining and limiting server functions thatmay be initiated through individual ones of deployed interactivewindows, the interactive windows and rule sets enabling the first personto control identity and contact information made available to users ofdeployed interactive windows.

In one embodiment, deployment of an interactive window is throughcreation of code modules or identifiers associated with the interactivewindow, the code module executable by an electronic appliance to insertsecond code into a specific application, which second code when executedby the application causes the electronic appliance to establishcommunication with the server identifying at least the electronicappliance and the application, to retrieve third code and data from theserver, which the electronic appliance uses to display the interactivewindow.

In one embodiment, the at least one interactive window comprises firstindicia identifying one of the personae and at least one link havingsecond indicia identifying a mode of action, the at least one linkselectable by a second person using the electronic appliance and viewingthe interactive window to initiate a request for action to the server.In one embodiment, one or both of the identity indicia of the personaand the modes of action displayed by an interactive window may be variedby the server dependent on one or both of the identity of the electronicappliance and the identity of the application.

In one embodiment having modes of action, the modes of action include atleast one of a request for communication with the first personassociated at the server with the persona identified in the interactivewindow and a request for information associated with the first person.In a variation of this embodiment, the request for action identifies amode of communication. In this embodiment, the modes of communicationinclude one of establishing a live voice call, a text messaging channel,a voice mailbox, and email. In a variation of this embodiment,indication of presence of a first person for receiving a communicationis provided in the interactive window.

In one embodiment, a group persona may be created defining a group ofindividual personae related by any one or more of activity, family,formal membership, political affiliation, or other relationship. In thisembodiment, modes of action may comprise sending a message to all orselected ones of the persons in a group identified by the group personaor publishing information to all or selected ones of the personsassociated by persona in a group identified by the group persona.

In another embodiment having action links, the server, in response to anaction link being selected by a person viewing an interactive window,may request additional information from the person initiating the actionlink, and may vary and restrict server functions according to theadditional information provided or not provided.

In one embodiment where code modules or identifiers are created, thecode modules or identifiers may be copied from appliance to appliance,such that, when inserted into a new appliance and used, the identity ofthe new appliance and the application executing the code is provided tothe server, which may vary response accordingly.

In one embodiment, the system further includes an interactiveconfiguration window that may be used by authorized persons to viewstatistics of usage of services of the system. In one embodiment,authorized persons may view statistical activity and status ofindividual personae and group personae. In one embodiment having modesof action, an interactive window may comprise a commercial display orbrand.

According to another aspect of the invention, a method is provided forsharing information. The method includes the steps (a) creating in aserver in a wide-area-network, a persona associated with a first personand stored in a data repository coupled to the server, (b) creating inthe server an interactive window deployable to electronic appliances,the interactive window associated with the persona and comprising one ormore interactive links for initiating server functions, and (c) creatinga rule set associated with the persona and operable on the server, theset of rules defining and limiting the server functions that may beinitiated through a deployed interactive window, the rule sets enablingthe first person to control identity and contact information madeavailable to users of deployed interactive windows.

In one aspect of the method, deployment of an interactive window isthrough creation of a code module associated with the interactivewindow, the code module executable by an electronic appliance to pastesecond code into a specific application, which second code when executedby the application causes the electronic appliance to establishcommunication with the server identifying at least the electronicappliance and the application, to retrieve third code and data from theserver, which the electronic appliance uses to display the interactivewindow. In one aspect of the method the interactive window comprisesfirst indicia identifying the personae and at least one link havingsecond indicia identifying a mode of action, the at least one linkselectable by a second person using the electronic appliance and viewingthe interactive window, to initiate a request for action to the server.

In a variation of the aspect described immediately above, one or both ofthe identity indicia of the persona and the modes of action displayed bythe interactive window may be varied by the server dependent on one orboth of the identity of the electronic appliance and the identity of theapplication. In another variation of this aspect, modes of actioninclude at least one of a request for communication with the firstperson associated at the server with the persona identified in theinteractive window and a request for information associated with thefirst person. In another variation of the aspect just mentioned, therequest for action identifies a mode of communication. In this variantof the aspect, the modes of communication include establishing one of alive voice call, a text messaging channel, a voice mailbox, or an email.

In another variation of the aspect having a mode of communication,indication of presence of a first person for receiving a communicationis provided in the interactive window. In one aspect a group persona maybe created defining a group of individual personae related by any one ormore of activity, family, formal membership, political affiliation, orother relationship. In this aspect modes of action may comprise sendinga message to all or selected ones of the persons in a group identifiedby the group persona or publishing information to all or selected onesof the persons associated by persona in a group identified by the grouppersona.

In one aspect, the server, in response to an action link being selectedby a person viewing an interactive window, may request additionalinformation from the person initiating the action link, and may vary andrestrict server functions according to the additional informationprovided or not provided.

In the aspect using code modules or identifiers, the code modules oridentifiers may be copied from appliance to appliance, such that, wheninserted into a new appliance and used, the identity of the newappliance and the application executing the code is provided to theserver, which may vary response accordingly.

In one aspect, the method includes a step for viewing by authorizedpersons, statistics of usage of services of the system through aninteractive configuration window. In one aspect, authorized persons mayview statistical activity and status of individual personae and grouppersonae. In the aspect including the interactive window, theinteractive window may comprise a commercial display or brand.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a network architecture supportinga server-client system for enabling users to contact a publishing clientwhile protecting the identities of the clients according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary interactive window display ofa distributable client according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a service provider 203 adaptedfor providing contact services to users interacting with the iPanel ofthe present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an interactive second window 300invoked by interacting with a telephone call button of the interactivewindow display of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an interactive second window 400invoked by interacting with a text message link or email action buttonof the interactive window of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating various interactive windowspresented in various configurations into a Web page 501 according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an action server and database 600engaging in constraint application relative to a requested actionaccording to input data in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a process flow chart illustrating server steps 700 fordetermining valid code execution of a server client.

FIG. 9 is a process flow chart illustrating steps 800 for userinitiation of a contact action and server response according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a facility 900 for designing andsaving interactive windows according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a facility 1000 for configuringaction constraints according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating an iGroup Panel 1200 andassociated member iPanel icons.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The inventor provides a system for managing interaction and informationincluding a server and distributable server client that may be used toenable communication between users and publishers that use the serverclient to publish their information the system also used to create andmanage virtual social interaction networks where users may publish theirinformation and identities with user-controlled levels of identityprotection enforced to protect real contact and identity information ofpublishers. The details of the invention are explained fully in thefollowing embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a network architecture supportinga server-client system for enabling users to contact a publishing clientwhile protecting the identities of the clients according to anembodiment of the present invention. Network architecture capable ofsupporting practice of the present invention includes a wide areanetwork (WAN) 101. WAN 101 is also referenced herein by a networkbackbone 102. WAN 101 may be a corporate WAN or a public WAN such as theInternet network.

WAN 101 may be referred to as Internet 101 in embodiments where theInternet is used. WAN 101 is connected to a wireless network 103 and toa telephone network, in this example, a public switched telephonenetwork (PSTN) 104. Wireless network 103 may be a wireless cellulartelephone carrier network or a wireless fidelity (WiFi) network or someother type of wireless data network so long as the protocols of WAN 101are supported including Internet protocols in the case of Internet 101.

PSTN 104 may instead be a private telephone network or a corporatenetwork. In this example, the inventor chooses network 101(Internet)because of its high public access characteristics of those networks.PSTN 104 and wireless network 103 may also serve a large public base.Therefore, there are no geographic limitations to the practice of thepresent invention.

Internet 101 includes a service host 100. Service host 100 may be anyenterprise hosting the server-client system of the present invention.Service host 100 includes an enterprise server (ES) 112 and a connecteddata repository 113. ES 112 is enhanced and enabled by enterprisesoftware (SW) 114. Repository 113 may be internal to ES 113 or externalas illustrated in this example. Repository 113 may be an optical storagesystem, a hard disk system, a redundant array of independent disks(RAID), or any other known data repository.

ES 112 is a central server system, which may be hosted on one or morethan one machine in a scalable embodiment. ES 112 is enhanced to providein addition to other services, contact services to users who may wishcontact and interact with other users through a unique distributableserver client that may be inserted in Web pages or other electronicdisplay media accessible to users. ES 112 offers contact services toclients in a way that protects the client identities from potentialabuse. ES 112 also includes a portal for enabling clients to configuretheir identities and to determine a level of protection for real contactor other identification information from users who may contact themusing the service.

Repository 113 is connected directly to ES 112 and is adapted to containamong other data, contact action constraint data configured by clientsrelative to contact related actions. Other types of data that might becontained in repository 113 may include customer account data, customerprimary contact information, various customer aliases or “personae” andassociated contact data, rules related to servicing customers and makingcontact with customers, customer presence information, and otherconfigurable data related to customer service accounts.

Customers of host enterprise 100 may be individuals or groups ofindividuals including corporate groups of individuals, business-relatedgroups of individuals, socially networked groups of individuals,event-networked groups of individuals, family groups of individuals, orjust individuals that have reason to communicate periodically orfrequently over the public network with a configurable degree ofidentity protection.

An identity relates to any identity information or profile that acustomer or service client wishes to publish through a distributableclient provided by the service. Identity protection relates toprotecting the publisher's contact information and other attributes ofan “identity” that the publisher wishes to hide from anyone who mightmake contact with the publisher through the service.

Customers as described immediately above may be subscribers to theservice of the present invention. A customer or client may connect to ES112 for the purpose of opening an account with the service andconfiguring one or more server clients for use in identity publishing.Such customers may utilize personal, membership, or enterprise specificWeb pages that are available to the general public or otherwise to userswho may make contact with those customers through those sites. Theservice of the invention utilizes a distributable server-client adaptedto enable customers to publish their identities and other data to anyWeb page, communication application with Web access, or word processingdocument with Web integration capability they may have access to.

In this example, a Web server (WS) 115 is illustrated having connectionto backbone 102 and a Web server (WS) 116 is illustrated also havingconnection to network backbone 102. Web servers 115 and 116 may host Webpages accessible to users within which server clients of ES 112 may beinserted in some cases by installing embedding, or pasting. On Webserver 115, a distributable client (DC) 110 b is illustrated and on Webserver 116, a DC 110 a is illustrated. DCs 110 a and 110 b are primarilyadapted as distributable access points presented as interactive windowsthat when invoked by a user function to open a client/server connectionto ES 112 provide a gateway to services accessed from the point ofdistribution. Contact services for example may include telephony contactservices, messaging contact service, email contact services, voice mailservices, and other contact services. The identity publishing client mayselect and configure which contact services will be available throughany DC interactive window. In one embodiment other published data may beaccessible through the DC interactive display window such as links toother data or sites, published article or newsletters and similarpublished materials.

A network communications routing system 117 is illustrated in thisexample having connection to network backbone 102 and represents genericelectronic message (MSG) router capability such as any email server, forexample. Routing system 117 also represents voice communications routingsuch as data network telephony (DNT) including Voice over InternetProtocol (VoIP) and other voice messaging or bi-directionalcommunication services. CTI telephony services may also be leveragedthrough routing system 117. In one embodiment, media services may beavailable through routing requests to deliver support and media contentto iPanels for requesting users to access if authorized.

One with skill in the art will recognize that such routing andinteraction systems may be proprietary by design and may be hosted by awide variety of communications service providers and may include such asshort message services (SMS), instant message services (IM), chatservices, and voice message services, interactive voice response (IVR)services and so on. Routing system 117 and any associated equipment andserviced may be provided entirely by host 100 or may be leased by thehost from third-party service providers. The host may also observe acombination of hosting and leasing equipment and capabilities withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

ES 112 has the capability of initiating a contact requested by a useroperating through a distributable client like DC 110 a or DC 110 b. Thecontact initiated may be a telephone call, an email message, or someother supported form of contact. ES 112 therefore may be assumed to becapable of accessing the required voice or message systems in placewithin the host or external of the host to enable communications and toeffectively cause a contact event to be established between the twoparties where the contact requesting party is prevented from seeingcertain information of the publishing party.

A desktop computer 106 is illustrated in this example having a telephoneline connection to network backbone 102 through an Internet ServiceProvider (ISP) 108 in PSTN 104. In this example, desktop computer hasaccess to Internet network 101 via telephone modem dial-up method.However, other methods are available and may be used instead such asintegrated services digital network (ISDN), digital subscriber line(DSL), cable modem, corporate line, or others. Wireless broadband,wireless cellular, and other wireless technologies may be used with avariety of wireless devices to practice the invention.

Desktop computer 106 is network-capable and may be assumed enabled fornetwork browsing, network telephony, and network messaging using knownsoftware programs adapted for the purpose. In this regard, a useroperating desktop computer 106 may browse electronic information pages(Web pages) served by Web servers on the network such as Web servers 115or 116. Other communications devices may be associated with desktopcomputer 106, such as a PSTN-connected telephone 119, a cellulartelephone, and the like. Other equipment illustrated in PSTN 104 includea telephone system switch 107, which may be computer telephonyintegrated (CTI). In this case, telephone 119 has connection to switch107, which in turn has connection to a network bridge or gateway 120 foruse in transferring telephone calls between PSTN 104 and Internet 101 asis generally known in the art.

Desktop computer 106 has a display monitor with a browser application109 a illustrated. Browser 109 a may access Web pages served by Webservers 115 or 116. Therefore, browser 109 a may load a Web page servedby WS 116, the Web page having DC 110 a inserted herein. DC 110 a, knownas an iPanel may be triggered to display within browser 109 a as part ofthe host Web page. DC 110 a may be displayed when the page loads or by abrowser order as a result of mouse click or user selection. DC 110 a isenabled by code module or identifier that includes the server address ofES 112. When it is activated, server ES 112 is connected to and respondsby serving the correct iPanel attributes according to certainconstraints. The code may include just a universal resource identifier(URI), an email address, universal identifier (UID), or universalresource locator (URL). The code when activated causes the server torender an iPanel.

DC 110 a is dynamically served or built as a result of execution ofinserted code of the client at the point of access and the attributesavailable to (served to) the user may vary according to the distributedlocation of the server client, presence state of the publisher, theidentity of the user (machine address/network address) of the accessingdevice. The code may be limited such that a same piece of code may beused to represent multiple different DCs owned by a publisher whereineach DC represented is displayed when executed with unique identity andcontact attributes. The attributes for filling out the display of theserver client are served to the client when it is invoked or “loaded” byES 112. The build function of ES 112 relative to a distributed clientmay be governed by reported location of the client (host documentlocation), distributed state (host document type) and, perhaps theaccessing device parameters among other things.

DC 110 a and DC 110 b serve as interactive interfaces containinginteractive options for initiating contact with the publisher of the DC.The DC at minimum and only when executed to display includes a role or“persona” (identity) with the publisher, and an optional photo of thepersona portrayed by the publisher. Optionally, an action button forrequesting customer location (Map) may be provided as well as othercustom buttons like a button connecting the user to a biography of thepublisher possibly constrained by the role or persona created for the DClocation by the customer. Similarly other action icons or buttons thatprovide additional functions could be provided.

Clicking on an action button may cause a second interactive window todisplay depending on the type of action the button represents. A secondinteractive window or contact window includes the appropriate fields fortaking the user's contact information required to initiate a contactbetween the user and publisher. A main feature of the contact service isthat some level of identity protection not limited to contactinformation masking is afforded the publisher such as, for example,hiding the publishers telephone numbers or email address from the userattempting to make contact; blurring a picture or serving one that doesnot fully identify the publisher; and excluding any location informationabout the publisher. Location of the contacting user may also beconsidered in identity protection such as increasing the level ofidentity protection according location of the user at the time of therequest. The user in this case may not receive the full identity of theuser he might otherwise be entitled to.

In one embodiment, a publisher may create or configure severaldistributable clients displayable as interactive windows (iPanels)having different special identities and different contact options anddisplay attributes. These DCs may be placed or moved to desired hostsdetermined by the publisher who created them by installing the code orcopying and pasting the code or identifier into the host. A host of a DCsuch as DC 110 a or DC 110 b may be any Web page, Web integrated desktopapplication, such as Outlook™ for example, or any Web integratedelectronic document such as Microsoft Word™, Power Point™, Adobe™ andothers. A host of DC 110 a may further include any Web-enabled appliancesuch as a cell phone, personal digital assistant (PDA) or otherintelligent devices or services such as GPS Navigator™. Web-enabledmedia appliances such as Web enabled television, Rhapsody, and a host ofmedia download appliances can server to host DC 110 a.

As described further above, DC 110 a or 110 b (Interactive Window) maycontain one or more information action buttons that may be selected by auser to call up and display some information about the publisher thatthe user wishes to review such as a biography, list of accomplishments,list of credits, qualifications, opinion, political blurb etc. Otherinformation may be displayed in the interactive display window of adistributed client such as a picture of the publisher, and a job titleor role (persona) of that publisher associated with that particularwindow. It is noted herein that different personae of a publisher may beassociated with different contact information and different actions ormodes for contacting the persona of the customer.

With respect to pictures associated with a role or persona, a singlepicture or a picture slide show can be served as well as gif animations,avatars or the like. In one embodiment the publisher may have a shortvideo clip that might be invoked by clicking on the lead frame of theclip used as the “picture”. It is important to note here that a pictureis in some aspects considered an identity parameter of a publisher.Therefore depending on the application, the publisher may wish to berepresented by an avatar, a cartoon image, a blurred image, or perhapsno image at all in order to mask the true appearance of the publisherfrom those who may make contact. Likewise, there may be accessconstraints applied to created levels of service of any multimediacontent that displays in the “picture” placeholder of an iPanel based ona class of service that selectively allows or denies full access to thecontent.

In one embodiment, the image may be changed when the interactive windowis served dependant upon who might be displaying the image if known tothe server before any contact attempts are made by a user. If the useris someone I am competing with then perhaps a competitive picture of mewill display instead of a smiling me. Server recognition of a user atthe stage of execution of the code may not be possible until the userinputs some identification information.

A Laptop computer 105 is illustrated in this example and has a wirelessconnection to Internet network 101 via a wireless service provider (WSP)106, which also provides Internet connection services. In this case,wireless network 103 is a digital wireless network. As described withrespect to computer 106, Laptop 105 may be adapted for Internetbrowsing, network messaging, and network telephony. Similarly, there maybe other communications devices associated with Laptop 105 in a physicaldomain sense like a cellular mobile telephone 118, a personal digitalassistant, other wireless communications devices, or a landlinetelephone connected through the PSTN.

A user operating Laptop computer 105 may connect to a Web server such asWS 115 and be served a Web page containing DC 110 b execution code. Inone embodiment, a user (one who wishes to contact a publisher), clickson a link such as a contact link including the execution code (110 b)inserted in the Web page to cause service of DC 110 b to displaylocally. Different personae of one publisher may be created for use indifferent environments. For example, a publisher may have a persona fora sales job and a persona for a bowling league. Multiple distributableclients of one publisher may not necessarily be all accessible from onesingle Web page unless that page was also created specifically toprovide those different personae (published identities) for interaction.

In practice, when DC code 110 b is executed by a user such as oneoperating Laptop 105 and browser 109 b, it causes a server/clientconnection to be established between WS 115 and ES 112 aided by SW 114.In one embodiment, the actual data required to “build” the interactivedisplay of DC 110 b is aggregated by ES 112 according to configuredrules and preferences and is served to WS 115 as loadable data, whichsubsequently displays as an interactive client on Laptop 105 withinbrowser 109 b. In this way there is a dynamic component to thedistributed client and there may be information and options added to ortaken from the interactive window as prescribed by the publisher oragent for the publisher.

In one embodiment of the present invention, Dynamic Hypertext MarkupLanguage (DHTML) and Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) scripting is used toenable dynamic service of the interactive windows and for defining howthose windows will appear once executed. In practice of the inventionafter DC 110 b is executed and displayed, a user operating Laptop 105 ordesktop 106, for that matter may select from presented contact actionoptions to initiate and hopefully establish a contact event with apublisher. Invocation of one of the presented options causes submissionof a request over the established client/server channel for initiatingcontact with that publisher using the selected “mode” of communication.In this regard, the contact information of the publisher relative to theaction selected may be withheld from view of the user so that thepublishers contact information is protected cannot be obtained forillicit purposes and security is maintained.

It is noted herein that a pre-defined trigger that causes automaticdisplay and service of the publisher identity and contact options mayexecute a DC code. The trigger may be the event of a Web page beingaccessed by a device of a user. The trigger may be the invocation of alink or graphic on a Web page already displayed on a user device. In oneembodiment, a trigger for executing DC code may be time constrained,such as for example, execute code after the user is on the site for morethan one minute. Many different implementations for code execution,which may entail simply the activation of an identifier may bepracticed.

As illustrated with respect to the architecture, a user operatingdesktop 106, for example, may “load” a Web page containing several DCsthat may all be built and served locally for the user according to asame trigger event. An example would be a contact page for a group ofpublishers connected in some fashion such as business or through asocial group or a family group. Because an active client/serverconnection is activated during display of a DC, presence informationrelative to the publisher or publishers may be served into theappropriate DC displays. Contact options may in one embodiment bedynamically served according to time based and presence based rules. Inone embodiment, a family iGroup may be an extended family that mayinclude all relatives distant and immediate. Likewise, two or morefamily groups can merge to form an extended family group such as a groupaligned through marriages the group including multiple family surnames.

In general, when a user selects a presented contact option from a DCsuch as clients 110 a or 110 b, a second window relative to the contactmode selected appears containing fields for the user to input identityand contact information for contact initiation. For example, for atelephone call request, the user would enter a telephone number to call.For an email communication, the user would enter an email address andtype in the message in a field adapted for the purpose. The submissionof the request may be directed to ES 112 for pending action according topre-configured constraints for that DC (persona) and contact mode. ES112 initiates the contact between the user and the publisher andprotects the publisher's contact data by preventing visibility of thatinformation by the user. Therefore, on a telephone contact, for example,the publisher's telephone number would not be visible to the user. In anemail, the publishers email address would not be visible to the user.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary interactive window display ofa distributable client according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. Distributable client interactive window 110 a or 110 b may bedisplayed on a user's computing display screen whenever invoked as aresult of selecting (clicking) a contact URL presented in a Web page,form, or document integrated for HTML modality. A trigger event such asWeb page loading or opening of any Web-integrated document may alsocause display of DC 110 a or DC 110 b.

In this example the element 110 will be used to describe thedistributable client since instances 110 a and 110 b described in FIG. 1are essentially the same client in terms of base code. The terminteractive window may be used in this example to identify the displayedstate of DC 110. It is noted herein that the server client display orinteractive window is dynamically built and served when the client basecode is executed and the nature of the display may be highly variedaccording to circumstance.

The displayed interactive window of DC 110 may include a publisher namefield for displaying a name representing the publisher and publisherrole or persona field 201 for displaying the role or persona created bythe publisher. In this case the name of the publisher is Tai Pan and thepersona or role that Tai Pan is portraying through DC 110 is that of anetwork administrator. This identity information is sufficient toidentify the interactive window and to associate the client with thecorrect options and contact information relative to that client identityinformation.

This is just one of more than one possible persona that may exist forthe publisher named Tai Pan. The persona or role “network administrator”will identify DC 110 and associate the identity to the interactivewindow display and specific contact information provided by or createdfor the publisher that may be active contact data for that particularpersona. In one embodiment, the publisher name portion of the field mayalso include a relationship statement although one is not illustratedhere. For example, Tai Pan, father of Shri Pan.

The appropriateness of a relationship statement may be based partiallyon the selected persona of the interactive window and whether thepersona is part of a group of publishers. A group of users may organizeunder a group name and may collectively be represented by adistributable client that represents the entire group of users organizedas an iGroup. In this case, each publisher/member of the group may alsohave one or more DCs that may be nested in the parent DC or group DC. Inone case, the group DC becomes an access point for browsing groupmembers and initiating contact with group members through their own DCs.

In this embodiment, the interactive window of DC 110 includes athumbnail picture or inserted picture 200 of Tai Pan. Picture 200 may bea thumbnail picture that is not interactive or it may be a dynamicallyserved picture that may be clicked on to enlarge. In one embodiment, alikeness of Tai Pan may not be included. Likewise, the picture 200 ifprovided is not required to be of the likeness of the contact per se.The picture may be selected for display by the publisher and thereforecould be of any description. Likewise, more than one picture may beprovided to be dynamically served to DC 110 for display in theinteractive window each picture displayed for a time then replaced by anext picture like a slide show. Instead of a picture, text information,audio, audio/video, or cartoon animations may be also be served anddisplayed.

Interactive window 110 includes a plurality of interactive andselectable links presented in the graphic form of action buttons 202(a-n). From left to right, the action buttons are a call button 202 a,an email button 202 b, an IM button 202 c, a map button 202 d and aprofile button 202 n. There may be more or fewer action buttons of likeor other descriptions provided on the interactive window of DC 110without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

It is possible in one embodiment that the executable code of adistributable client may contain instructions for serving one or anotherinteractive window and associated interactive features base on aconditional sate reported to ES 112 at the time of code execution. Forexample, the resulting interactive window might identify one persona andassociated options of the publisher for users who execute the clientfrom a Laptop computer while a completely different persona andassociated options might be served if a cell phone executes the code.Hence the separation in definition from the distributable client, whichis the executable code and any execution conditions in the code, and theinteractive window that displays as a result of the execution of thecode.

Referring now back to FIG. 2, call button 202 a may be interacted withby a user viewing an interactive window of DC 110 in order to initiatecontact with Tai Pan by telephony application, including by a shared ordedicated line as the case may be. Clicking on call button 202 a resultsin a subsequent display on the user's computing display screen of asecond interactive window that may be interacted with to execute atelephony request relative to Tai Pan, network administrator. Emailcontact button 202 b may be interacted with by a user in order todisplay a second window enabling the user to send the customer an emailmessage. IM button 202 c may be interacted with by a user in order todisplay a second window enabling the customer to send an instant messageto the contact. Map button 202 d may be interacted with by a user inorder to display a second window that enables the user to retrieve a mapof the customer location and/or directions to the customer location froma user perspective. Profile action button 202 n may be interacted withby a user in order to retrieve a second window containing someinformation about Tai Pan such as a short biography, a history with thecurrent position, or some other relevant profile data that Tai Pan hasauthorized for distribution.

Execution of DC 110 may result in display of an interactive window thatmay be pre-configured to be displayed in different ways. This viewrepresents a standard layout with picture 200 on the side and the arrayof action buttons 202(a-n) laid out horizontally across the bottom ofthe window. In another layout, picture 200 may be much larger and theaction panels may be laid out vertically, or in a staggered sequencearray. In another possible layout, the picture may be centered with theaction buttons surrounding the picture borders. In some cases, the iconsmay be brand logos in the case of branded iGroups for example, whichwill be described in more detail later in this specification. There aremany possible variations in presentation. It is important to note hereinthat the presence of real identity information about the publisher of DC110 or Tai Pan depends entirely on the preferences of Tai Pan.

It is noted herein that some of the displayed features of an interactivewindow of DC 110 may change depending on where the client is executed,for example, if DC 110 is executed from a Laptop computer, a higherresolution Jpeg may be served as picture 200 in the interactive windowwhereas if the DC is executed by a cell phone, a lower resolution mightbe used. Likewise the machine the display is served to might influencewhether video or a still representation of the publisher is used.

In one embodiment of the invention interactive window 110 may bedisplayed as a simple interactive thumbnail without contact optionsalong with others nested within a DC client configured for a group ofindividuals comprising some social or business network of individuals.In this regard, there may be options in a group panel or window formaking general contact, such as to a group administrator. In oneembodiment, nesting individual iPanels within the group panel ispracticed, the nested panels represented by interactive thumbnails,perhaps showing only the picture and persona or role of each groupmember, may represent each of the group members. In this case, a usermight browse the group members and click on one to execute the nestedcode causing an interactive window with contact options to be displayedfor that group member.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a service provider 203 adaptedfor providing contact services to users interacting with the iPanel ofthe present invention. Service provider 203 is illustrated in thisexample. Service provider 203 is analogous to service host 100 ofFIG. 1. In this example, a user 207 operating a computing device isconnected to a Web server (WS) 208 and is assumed to have executed adistributed client pasted into or inserted into a Web page served to theuser from server 208.

A publisher 206 operating from a computing device has access to aconfiguration component or “dashboard interface” provided by servercomponent 112 b termed a Directra configuration server. Sever component112 b may be assumed to be part of ES server 112 functionality describedwith respect to FIG. 1. Publisher 206 may connect to server component112 b and may retrieve a dashboard style configuration interface for usein configuring one or more iPanels (distributable clients) fordistribution to host locations such as in WS 208. All of thepre-configured attributes associated with a DC are stored for thepublisher in database 113. The database may be segregated forconvenience by publishing individual or publishing group.

The dashboard interface may also server as a one stop interactionmanagement interface for publishers managing interactions relative tomultiple personae represented by multiple distributable clients. Forexample, each persona may have its own segregated interaction spaceincluding voice queues, email queues, and other event notificationqueues. Moreover, message or event interaction priority rules may beseparately configurable for each interface, for example, to prioritizecall backs, emails, and so on. Priorities may also be set by actionconstraints based on identities. For example, voice message responses toan outbound contact campaign can re-ordered in queue depending onidentity-linked priority constraint.

In a further embodiment, content analysis may also be practiced toestablish interaction priorities for each different iPanel whereinteraction has occurred. Priorities may be configured differently for asame iPanel deployed to multiple different sites where the priority maybe linked to where the sites were deployed to. For example, a publishermay wish to interact with users from the eBay™ iPanel before workingresponses from the MySpace™ panel of a same persona.

Database 113 may include rules, application program interfaces (APIs) toclient applications, and action constraints based on dynamic orpre-configured rules. Publisher 206 may log into server component 112 busing, for example, an email address for user name, and a personalidentification (PIN) code or password for authentication if required bythe server. Client applications may be leveraged for information throughAPIs provided by the service to interface with those publisherapplications. For example, an API may be provided for a user to submitor upload white list or blacklist data associated with a desktopcommunications application such as Outlook™. Such lists may be made apart of the criteria for adjusting identity protection levels of aniPanel and of course for consulting during interaction management.

All of the input a publisher provides and associates with adistributable client may be stored within data repository 113 and laterretrieved during progress of fulfilling contact services. If the userexecutes the DC within WS 208, then the server client first opens acommunications channel between itself on Web server 208 and a Directraaction server component 112 a. Directra action server component 112 aonly comes into play when an action has been requested. Firstly anaction of loading a Web page or clicking a provided action link maycause a machine-readable code (DC) to execute and open a connectionbetween the WS and server component 112 a. The DC code executed includesa URL to server component 112 a. The code may include a reportingmechanism that once executed will monitor and obtain specificinformation such as where the code has been executed from and whatdevice was used to execute the code. Any state reporting by the code canbe accomplished once the code is executed.

Once the code has been executed and the server component 112 a isconnected to, the interactive window of the executed DC code may bebuilt. Action server component 112 b retrieves appropriate data fromrepository 113 for service to WS 208 to build the interactive window forthe executed client. Action server component 112 a knows the serveraddress and URL of the host page when the server/client connection isestablished. Server component 112 a may also get some information whenthe server connection is requested such as the reported location of theclient code, the identification of the client platform and theidentification of the machine causing the code execution as is known byWS 208 when the code is executed.

In one embodiment, the client code may be created and deployed to anelectronic appliance having network connection capability such as acellular telephone or the like. The code may be sent to the appliance asan email attachment or downloaded by the appliance from a server. Inthis embodiment, one the client code is executed, a second code ispasted into an application running on the electronic appliance such asan address book, for example. When the address book is opened on theelectronic appliance, the second code executes and opens a serverconnection with the action server if the appliance is online. The secondcode executed reports to the server in the request at least theappliance identification, and the application identification thatexecuted the code. A third code and data is then retrieved from theserver which when received is used to display the interactive window(iPanel). In this embodiment, once the server connection is opened, thedata for displaying the interactive window may vary relative to personaeand modes of action options presented in the display according to anyconstraint relative to device type, application type and so on.

The information gleaned at the request from the executed client in WS208 to establish a server connection between it and server component 112a may have some bearing on how the resulting interactive window will bedisplayed and what features will be included in the window. In thisrespect, the publisher has additional control over how much identitywill be revealed, what options will be provided, and how the displaywill appear to the user. Some of this consideration may be based simplyon mechanics related to device and platform and may be defaultconfiguration options. However, a publisher may create rules thatspecify build operations based on location of the distributed client.

The distributable client may be in a location that the publisher has notauthorized and therefore may create a rule limiting response to aconnection request from the client. On the other hand, a publisher mayhave reason to hope that a distributable client will be freelydistributed by users, perhaps copied and pasted into multiple Web pagesincreasing the prospects of interaction requests from multiple users.

Server component 112 a accesses database 113 based on a received requestand uses information in the request and pre-configuration rules indatabase 113 to determine the build instructions for serving theinteractive window data for subsequent display of the interactive windowtermed the iPanel that will be visible and accessible to user 207, forexample.

Once the iPanel is displayed on the user device, the user may interactwith the various features and options provided in the display such asthe contact buttons described further above. User 207 may select acontact button to initiate a second request to server component 112 a toinitiate a contact event to the publisher on behalf of the user. For theduration of the display of the interactive window served subsequent toexecution of the client code, the server connection between the clientrunning on the host in WS 208 and server component 112 a remains open.In one embodiment, a user requesting contact with a publisher through aniPanel may be asked to provide some additional information orauthentication before a request is accepted.

Assuming user 207 is interacting with the first interaction window, andthe user selects a call option presented in the window, server component112 a receives the request initiated by the invocation of the callbutton to place a call to the publisher on behalf of the user. Uponreceiving the request, server component 112 a serves a secondinteractive window containing the appropriate fields for the user toenter identity information and a telephone number to call. In oneembodiment, the secondary windows are served initially with theinteractive window but do not display until invoked.

User 207 enters the information and submits the information as a requestto contact the publisher by telephone. The user does not see anytelephone number for the publisher and can only place a call to thepublisher through the interactive window call option with the serverconnection open between the server client and the server. Thepublisher's real phone number is known only to the service of theinvention and is never published.

Server 112 a receives the submitted request information including theuser telephone number and identity. Before any action is taken, theserver may check database 113 for any constraints in place for the callaction or action constraints. In one case, the telephone number given bythe user may be on a black list of telephone numbers maintained by thepublisher and available within database 113. In another case, thepublisher may have presence information indicating that the publisher isonline but away at the moment. Such presence indicators may also beserved with the first interactive window containing the contact options.In any case where information in database 113 indicates that a telephonecall cannot be made to the publisher, server 112 a may send a responseback to the server client visible to the user that the telephone requestwas denied.

In a case that there are no restrictions governing the request, server112 a formats an outbound telephone contact request and forwards thatrequest to a telephony server capable of dialing a call to the numberprovided by the user. Services 205 illustrate contact services availableto server 112 a and they include a voice service for telephony. Voiceservices may be leased or owned and may include interactive voiceresponse (IVR), automated number dialing services, and even local switchservices. Voice services may include VoIP services and voice messagingand recording services.

In this case, voice services 205 places a telephone call to the numbersubmitted in the request. When user 207 answers, a second call is placedto the publisher transparently of the user. The user never has access tothe telephone number of the publisher. If the publisher answers, anautomated voice attendant may announce the user name and ask if thepublisher would like to take the call. If the publisher takes the call,the two parties are connected in a telephone session. The number of thepublisher is never accessible during the telephone session because bothparties were called first and then connected at a switch. If thepublisher cannot or will not accept the call then an automated attendantwill notify the user of the situation and, perhaps ask the user to leavea voice message for the publisher. During the time that a user is on thetelephone with the service waiting for connection to the publisher, theservice may play one or more advertisements to the user. Such ads may beserved by a third party or provided by the publisher or the servicedepending on the nature of the publisher relationship with the service.

Server function is governed essentially by a request and by any rules orconstraints that might be associated to the request type for thepublisher persona represented in the first interactive window. If user207 clicks on an Email action button then a request is sent to server112 a for sending an email to the publisher on behalf of the user.Again, a second window containing the appropriate message fields may besent back to the client made to display for the user to input the useridentity information including the return email address. In one case,the second window associated with the email option may have already beensent to the server client but may not display unless the appropriateemail icon is invoked.

Again, the contact information of the publisher, namely the publisheremail address is not visible to the user submitting email identityinformation and typing an email message into the email interface. User207 may hit send or submit after typing the email message and server 112a will receive the message. Before any action is taken however, theserver will check database 113 for any email constraints such as a Spamlist, a blacklist or a trust network list and may deny the request if aconstraint is in place against the user. If server 112 a approves therequest, the email message is forwarded to an email service 205 thathandles routing of the message to an email address of the publisherbased on identity association.

For example, a group of individuals that have different email addressesmay have one email account and one email address set up for routingpurposes when a user selects an email action button from an interactivewindow identifying one of those individuals, the email message will berouted to the individual or publisher that owns that persona. If thepublisher is an individual, he or she may share a generic service emailaddress with other individuals and routing to actual destination emailaddresses is based on associating the persona with the publishers actualemail address on file. The email address is never published or at anytime available to the user. Return emails may be sent to the user emailaddress with the persona name and from address showing the generic emailaddress used by the service or no address at all. Email addresses mayalso be temporarily assigned to a publisher for a limited period of timespecified by the publisher. Other services such as E-fax, IM and SMS canbe handled in much the same way by the service so that the realaddresses, handles, fax numbers, etc. are never published in a way thatthe user may access them.

One aspect of the trust routing concept is that if the publisher trustscertain users they may be given preferential treatment by the serviceover non-trusted or unknown users. This may be managed for each contactoption through provision of trusted identity lists that may includenames and address information for each mode of contact. For example, ifuser 207 is an associate of a publisher and requests a call, but thepublisher is away at the time, the publisher may authorize use of apersonal number such as a mobile telephone that the publisher carrieswith him. The automated attendant in this case can call the publisher atthat number only if the publisher has authorized it for the callinguser. In this case, the number may still be withheld from the trusteduser only because the publisher may not want to set a precedent forusing the mobile number. There are many possibilities.

Service provider 203 may have access to services 209 including one ormore ad services and one or more branding services. Ad service 209 canbe any third party service that is capable of delivering dynamic orstatic advertising to server component 112 a for inclusion intointeractive windows served upon server client code execution by a user.Ads may be served at any time during the open connection between theserver and the server client. Branding service 209 may be anythird-party service that has authorization to create skins thatadvertise certain consumer or commercial brands where publishers mayselect one or more brands for display to users. For example, a soccercoach persona of a publisher may select an Umbro™ brand known in thesoccer community as a maker of high quality soccer gear. If thepublisher is also the administrator of a soccer group, the brand can bepropagated to all of the iPanels created for the group members thatmight include players and other team supporters.

It is noted herein that the above branding concept provides anon-traditional vehicle for companies providing products and servicesunder a brand to propagate the brand through iGroups in a way that ismarkedly different than the way traditional electronic advertisement ispracticed. For example, if a soccer team buys cleats and soccer bagsfrom the company, its brand may be propagated by a unique skin to all ofthe iPanels of the team (iGroup customer) and is therefore made visibleto all of the contact users interacting with that group including ininteraction between the group and other groups.

Branded iGroups may include links that are propagated among the memberpanels to product and service information, links to special discounts oronline coupons for brand members, links to company product pages andcatalogs, and so on. An iGroup may become a branded iGroup through asponsorship arrangement, a position that competing brands might vie fordepending on the dynamics, including success, of the particular iGroup.Branding may also be made available for single iPanel publishers aswell.

In one embodiment, a publisher may publish a list of favorite brands orvendors available through the profile action button on the iPanel orsome other created action button linking to the material. In some cases,a publisher may receive some reward from a company for effectivelymarketing a particular brand.

In one embodiment, published materials may include routing informationor knowledge based on a personal trust network of the publisher, sotrust metrics can be published to second parties through the iPanel as aTrust Agent.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an interactive second window 300invoked by interacting with a telephone call button of the interactivewindow display of FIG. 2. Window 300 is a secondary window displayed asa result of interacting with a call link such as call action button 202a of FIG. 2. Window 300 is served to the user for the purpose ofenabling the user to enter the required information to initiate atelephone connection with the contact. As described above with respectto FIG. 3, window 300 may be served with the original interactive windowresulting from server client code execution but may not display unlessthe user invokes it. Otherwise, it may be served over the openconnection if the user invokes the telephone call option in the originalwindow and will display immediately upon service.

Secondary interactive window 300 has an information bar 301 indicatingthat the user may reach the contact by telephone. Bar 301 includesinteractive options 305 for closing the window (X), minimizing thewindow (−) and for restoring the window (+). On the interactive face ofwindow 300 there is an indication that the user may call Tai Pan andinforms the user that the telephone number or numbers for Tai Pan areprotected meaning that the user will not have access to a number for thepersona Tai Pan.

A from field 302 is provided on the face of window 300 adapted to acceptan entered telephone number from the user. This number is preferably anumber for a telephone available to the user at the time of the call. Aname field 303 is provided on the face of window 300 adapted to accept aname or identification of the user attempting to reach the contact byphone. An interactive action button 304 labeled, in this example, “Makethe call” is provided so that the user may execute a call request to aserver address other than any address of the contact.

In use, a server such as server component 112 a described above receivesthe request for a telephone call, the server having dial out capabilityor access to a voice server with the capability for placing a telephonecall to the user's entered telephone number. The server, analogous to ESserver 112 sets up the telephone channel between the user and thepublisher by first calling the user at the number entered into field302. When the user answers, the server then dials a telephone number forthe publisher transparently to the user. When the contact answers, theserver using IVR or bi-directional voice interaction capability statesthe callers name and asks if the publisher will accept the call. If thepublisher says yes, then the two legs of the telephone channel areconnected and the user and contact may begin conversing over thetelephone channel. During the connection the number identification ofthe publisher is never exposed to the user.

In one embodiment, constraints may apply to the call action executed fora specific contact persona. For example, the server receiving therequest for a call from a user may first consult any action constraintsor rules that may have been created for the action “call”. The usertelephone number may be on a trusted user list or a black list. Theremay be a time constraint for placing a call to that persona. If the userattempts a call that, due to some constraint cannot be completed, theserver that processed the request may respond by asking the user viamessaging, through the original window, by pop-up indication, or throughIVR or automated attendant if the first leg of the call channel isestablished for input. Such a message or voice prompt may providenotice, for example, that “The person you are trying to reach isavailable only by email at this time”.

In one case, presence information may indicate that the contact iscurrently working under another persona associated with specific contactinformation that may be different from the contact information andoptions provided under the persona the user has executed and isattempting to contact. In this case, the interactive window of the firstpersona may be dynamically substituted by the interactive window of thesecond persona or to the persona known to be indicative of the currentstate and availability of the publisher. Dynamically substitutinginteractive windows for a single location may require an overriding rulein place for triggering a substitution and similar or same base code forthe server client to accept the substituted window. In one case, thepublisher may be working under a persona correctly served to the uservia interactive window, but may be temporarily unavailable because ofengagement with a user in one or more of the communications modesrepresented by the action buttons. More than one user may execute thecode causing multiple displays of the same interactive window.

In a case of unavailability of the publisher for any reason such as dueto a pre-planned action constraint or for other reasons such as awaystate, network conditions, etc., if the contact request cannot befulfilled, the user may receive notification back through the networkconnection between the client and the server to the local display windowthe user has open or via a separate pop-up message window. In the caseof a telephone request if the user is already connected but thepublisher cannot or will not accept the call, IVR intervention or anautomated attendant may be implemented to inform the user of thecondition or state and may make one or more suggestions to the user suchas “Try your call again later”; “Would you like to chat with thecontact”; or perhaps, “Contact is currently unavailable at this channelwould you like to switch channels”. It is noted herein that fulltelephony modality may be leveraged in this example, such as the abilityfor call waiting, call hold, call forwarding, 3-way calling, and thelike. It is noted herein that secondary interactive messaging or callwindows may also be carriers of advertising and branding.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an interactive second window 400invoked by interacting with a text message link or email action buttonof the interactive window of FIG. 2. According to an embodiment of thesame invention, window 400 is served to the user upon selecting theemail action button 202 b of the interactive window DC 110 illustratedand described above.

Window 400 is similar in appearance to an email interface and is adaptedto allow the user to send a message that will be received at a serversuch as server component 112 a described above and then routed as anemail message to one or more email addresses of the publisher.Publishers may download their email from an IMAP server or may haveemail forwarded to their post office protocol (POP) email account oraccounts. The server analogous to server component 112 a of FIG. 3functions as a proxy messaging server by sending a formatted message to,for example, a message router or email routing service that will routethe message by identity matching the publisher persona to an actualmessaging address known to the server but not made available to a user.

Window 400 has a title bar 401 that reads Reach Tai Pan via email.Interactive options 305 are also present for closing minimizing orrestoring the window as described further above. The face of window 400includes a To: line indicating that the user is emailing Tai Pan. Anotification to the user indicates that indicates that the email addressof Tai Pan is protected. This means that the email address that will bethe destination address of the message will not be revealed to the user.

The face of window 400 includes a from (From:) field 402 adapted toaccept input of an email address of the user. A name (Name:) field 403is included on the face of window 400 for the user to input a name. Amessage body (Body:) field 404 is provided on the face of window 400 forthe user to input the message. Message body field 404 is scrollableusing scroll bar 405. The interface includes a message send button 406.A check box 407 is provided for enabling the user to forward a copy ofthe message to an email address of the user, which would be the sameaddress entered into the from field. In one embodiment, window 400 mightalso include a mechanism for enabling a user to send attachments thoughnone is illustrated here.

In one embodiment, the host maintains an email routing server thataccepts the message body from the user addressed to a generic emailaddress, which is not the publishers address and then routes thatmessage according to constraints pre-configured by the publisher as anemail message to the publishers email address.

The address of the user may be on a publisher's black list or trusteduser list. A publisher may maintain a temporary email address wherecertain mail is screened for routing to a more permanent address. Thecontact may have forwarding orders to specific email addresses forcertain mail sent to the address used by the service message router asthe email contact for the specific persona of the contact the user isattempting to reach. Another persona set up by the contact may haveanother email address associated with the email action button if one isprovided in the interactive window representing that persona.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating various interactive windowspresented in various configurations into a Web page 501 according to anembodiment of the present invention. The user typically uses a browserapplication 500 to display a Web page 501 that contains 3 inserteddistributable clients (interactive windows) that are displayed in thiscase as a result of Web page loading where all 3 of the clients areexecuted and the windows visible to a user. Browser interface 500 istypical of an interface that may be used to browse Web pages on thenetwork. At the top of the interface, typical browser elements and useroptions and menus are found including search fields; web addressnavigation field and so on typical of any browser application.

In this example, a Web page 501 having a URL ofhttp://abcconsulttoday.com/contact.htm is displayed as an exemplarycontact page that might be navigated to from a home page of the siteabcconsulttoday.com. Graphics 503 of contact page 501 include a list ofnavigation buttons 507 for site navigation, a contact navigation optionshaded to indicate that it was selected to load page 501. The executedclients result in display of interactive window 504 for contactingpersona Jim Smith, role (VP software), window 505 for contacting personaJohn Jones, role (Sales), and window 506 for contacting Tai Pan, role(Network administrator).

In this example, interactive windows 504, 505, and 506 are dynamicallybuilt as a result of the trigger of loading the Web page 501. That is tosay that all three distributable clients inserted in the page wereexecuted at essentially the same time. The information for creating eachinteractive window is dynamically served to each server client by a hostserver such as ES 112 described with respect to FIG. 1 further above. Inone embodiment, hyperlinks may be presented on contact page graphics 503for the three contacts represented so that a user may select one to“order” an interactive window for that persona. In one embodiment withwindows 504, 505, and 506 open, there are three server connections tothe server or one for each client executed. In one embodiment, if oneclient is executed and has an open interactive window served through anopen server connection, then subsequent executions of clients in thesame Web host may use the single server connection to receive the buildinstructions and data for dynamic display of the associated interactivewindows.

Windows 504 and 505 are standard thumbnail views each containing athumbnail picture of the represented publisher the personae names androles includes and a plurality of action buttons arrayed across thebottom of each interactive window. Interactive window 506 represents a“face view” and has a much-enlarged picture of the publisher includingpersona name and role and including interactive action buttons orindicia 202(a-n) arrayed in a vertical column to the right of thepicture. In one embodiment, the view may be similar to the way baseballcards look, for example, personae belonging to an iGroup that is asports team might all have branded baseball card panels that can bemoused over or clicked once to reveal a backside of the card withinformation about the player visible. Such iPanel representations may beprinted out to physically replicate the branded card with the player'spicture, years of service, and with team and player statistics availableon the reverse side of the card.

It should be noted herein that other custom views different than thosedescribed above are possible including dynamic view variations that aredependant on the location of the distributable client or type of deviceused to execute the client codes to call the interactive windows intodisplay without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Windows 504-506 may, in one embodiment, all be ordered simultaneously bythe act of selecting contact from page navigation options 507. Inanother embodiment, they may be ordered separately from the loadedcontact page 501 by separately clicking a link associated to apublisher, the link invocation serving to execute the associated clientcode. In this case, persona roles identify each interactive window.

Jim Smith as a publisher may own more than one personae and role. Therole illustrated in window 504 is Vice President (VP) Software. JimSmith may also be the press contact for the site and may have adistributable client code inserted into a press page of the site thatmay be associated to entirely different interactive window features andcontact options for the press. Therefore, if a user clicks on Press innavigation options 507 and navigates to the press page, an interactivewindow for Jim Smith (Press contact) may be ordered having completelydifferent contact information associated with that role. In this way,Jim may protect is identity and manage his incoming flow ofcommunication requests according to roles he plays within the company.Because the service of the invention is dynamic, state and/or presenceinformation may be incorporated into the communication actions ifselected by a user. The user while online may select any of the actionindicia on the face of the interactive window to call up a second windowto initiate a communication with the contact according to actionconstraints. The pertinent contact data of the customer is withheld fromthe user so that the user does not have email, IM, telephone, or othercontact data that the publisher does not want the user to have.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an action server and database 600engaging in constraint application relative to a requested actionaccording to input data in an embodiment of the present invention. Asdescribed above, a user interacting with an interactive window byselection of an action button initiates contact with a publisher. Theactual contact action is performed by a server analogous to actionserver component 112 a of FIG. 3 as a result of input received throughan input port 601 of the server.

Input data 602 arrives at the server from the executed server client asa result of user interaction with the interactive window of the clientand includes identification of the interactive window the user hasinteracted with by persona and role. Input data 602 includesidentification of the action mode (contact option) selected by the userto initiate contact. The data input into the second interactive windowincludes the source identity of the user such as the user name or handleand the address information or number of the user associated with theaction mode selected.

Other information may be known by the action server including the serverclient URL address, the identity of the accessing machine (serialnumber), the network IP address of the accessing machine, and thenetwork address of the host machine of the server client. However theonly information required in order to initiate a contact on behalf ofthe user is the identity of the publisher and role which serves toidentify the interactive window served to the user as a result of codeexecution, the identification of the requested action, and the sourceidentity information of the user associated with the action request. Insome cases, there may be some challenge/response interaction requiredbefore an action can be initiated by the user such as entering a PINnumber or password. A validation sequence for the entered informationmay also be required in some cases before an action can be considered.

In one embodiment, a communication broker 603 is provided that hasaccess to a set of dynamic and static rules contained in a rules base604 that may be associated in part with the publisher of the specificpersona and role serving to identify the interactive window. Routing maybe primarily governed by the publisher identity associated to aparticular iPanel. Static rules may be pre-defined and associated with apersona and role of a publisher, associated with a requested actionindicia, and associated with a source identity input by the user. Forexample, in input data 602 if an action requested is an emailcommunication and the source identity is on a blacklist maintained bythe publisher for the persona configured to the interactive window thenthe state of the event “User on Blacklist” may determine the action ofthe server and which action constraint from a constraint table 605 toapply to the request processing.

Action constraints are provided in action constraint table 605 andinclude but are not limited to Return to Sender; Action Denied; ChangeAction/Mode; Time Constraint/Action; Delayed Delivery/Action; and RecordVoice Message. There may be many other constraints listed in table 605without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention; howeverthe several listed here serve well in explanation of the invention.

Communications broker 603 having knowledge of the source identity, theaction requested, and the window identity (persona, role), can searchrules database 604 for rules that may be pre-defined for the window,source, or action, or all of these. Presence and state information mayalso be incorporated and run against the rules. Based on the outcome ofthis process, communications broker 603 may select the appropriateconstraint from table 605 to apply to the resulting action that theserver takes. An action execution module 606 is provided to execute anyserver action resulting in an output such as an email sent or a calldialed, for example. The resulting action is output through the serveroutput data port represented herein by output port 607. The server mayhave more than one input and output port as well as queues and otherserver components not illustrated here without departing from the spiritand scope of the present invention. The representation here is logicalonly.

In one embodiment, constraint broker 603 is spawned as a personalinstance of constraint broker for one individual publisher that may be amember of a trust network or iGroup of individuals with a high level ofimplied trust among themselves. In this embodiment, the broker hasaccess to the member's interaction history in the group and, perhapsother groups the member may be involved with, perhaps using otherpersonae. In such as case, one broker may consult other brokers to helpdetermine in an advanced way whether a user should be trusted or notfrom a group level standpoint.

To illustrate the concept, a user may attempt contact with one memberand may enter the appropriate source identity for initiating thecontact. The member may have a trust level metric of not trusting newcontacts not already listed in a trust list. However, the contact may bealready listed in another members trust list which the current membertrusts as well. Broker 603, may then check rules 604 and additionally,run the identity against the trust interaction history of the entiregroup to determine if the identity has trust already establishedelsewhere in the group. If so, the broker may, by rule, override theindividual members trust level governing that identity. The process mayalso work in reverse where the individual might have allowed the contactbut the identity has a history of not being trustworthy in interactionwith other group members. Broker 603 may consult with other personalbrokers or there may be a master broker provided that handles grouplevel trust metrics and has access to all member interactions and trustmetrics applied in those interactions.

To continue discussion of the process of constraint application tooutput using the example cited further above, if the user (sourceidentity) is on a blacklist maintained by the publisher for the personafor the communication action requested, the broker 603 will consult therule associated with that blacklist and select the appropriateconstraint “Action Denied”, for example, from table 605. Therefore, theserver output will essentially be a denial of action or “request denied”to the user. This output may be propagated in several different waysdepending upon the mode of communication requested. The server hasaccess to the return address information of the source and can generatean error or denial message to that address. The server may serve apop-up message to appear on the Web page the user is working from. Intelephony, since the user is first called before the publisher iscalled, the first call attempt would never be made in the case of aservice denial.

An action constraint may be tied to presence information or other stateinformation about a publisher. For example, if a user is attempting atelephone contact, but current presence information indicates that thecontact is in a conference call, then a rule may be available thatdirects the communications broker to select the constraint “Record VoiceMessage”. Again, because the server may know the state of the publisherit never has to dial the publisher it may simply call the user insteadand using IVR or automated attendant, ask that the user record amessage. In another embodiment, the server may by default dial into thevoice message service and then call the user and connect the user tothat service when the user answers the telephone.

Rules for source identities, personae, roles, and action indicia may bechanged at any time with such changes manifesting the next time a userorders an interactive window through code execution. For example, acontact email address or telephone number may be temporarily disabledfor some reason. The state may be recorded and the next time the windowis ordered that action indicia may be grayed out and not selectable.Action indicia may no longer be pertinent for a persona of the publisherin which case the indicia can be dropped for that window. Likewiseaction indicia may be added for persona represented in an interactivewindow at any time.

Action requests that make it through the server to output are forwardedto the appropriate routing mechanisms or service machines that have thecapability of establishing the communication event whether it be amessage, voice mail, telephone call fax message, Instant message, SMS,or other type of communication event. In all embodiments of theinvention a publisher can only be contacted by a user through the actionserver when . . .

1. A server client has been executed

2. A server connection is opened between the server and the executedclient

3. The first Interactive window has been served and displayed

4. The user has invoked a contact option presented in the first window

5. A second interactive window is served and filled in by the user and

6. The action request submitted to the server over the server connection

If the user is trying to get a map of the publisher location or simplyordering a publisher profile or some other data published through theinteractive window them in place of step 4, the user would click on themap button or profile button. This sends a request for the data to beserved and displayed, perhaps in a second window adapted to present theordered data. If mapping is requested the request may be a link toYahoo™ or Google™ mapping services which may also include a third-partyoption for getting directions in which case the user would have to entera user address.

FIG. 8 is a process flow chart illustrating server steps 700 fordetermining valid code execution of a server client. In step 701, anaction server analogous to server component 112 a of FIG. 3 receives arequest from a distributable server client resulting from execution ofthe client code or identifier inserted into a host such as a Web page,for example. In this step, the executed code includes a procedure forrequesting the server connection and further instructions for retrievingthe required data over the opened connection for building theinteractive window termed the iPanel by the inventor.

At step 702, the server checks data associated with the request againsta set of available rules governing the process. The rules set may, atleast in part, be pre-configured by a publisher owning the server clientcode. One rule might define approved network locations from whence aconnection may be approved. The publisher has control in this casewhether the code execution will result in an open connection with theserver. Another rule may be in place that restricts device types thatmay receive an open connection as the result of code execution. Otherrules may be in place for determining what type of window data will beserved to the client for display. For example, a rule may define layoutor resolution or some other build option based on location of codeexecution or device type that has executed the code.

In this example, the server checks these rules before granting an openconnection to the client. At step 703, the server determines whether theconditions of execution pass the rules process or not. The server maydetermine certain data from the original request sent upon codeexecution such as the network location of the client, the networklocation of the host of the client, and the network address and/oridentification of the machine that caused the code execution. The hostmachine type may also be recognized by the server. In some embodiments,platform identification of the machine that will display the interactivewindow of the open connection if established may be known.

At step 703, if the request passes the evaluation and there are noconditions to override a server connection, then a server connectionbetween the server and the client is opened at step 704. In step 704,the server also serves the interactive window for display, through thehost, on the accessing machine. In the service of the required data forbuilding the interactive window, the exact data served to build thedisplay may vary according to one or more rules. One rule may allow aserver connection for any accessing machine with a display but mayrequire different versions of the window data for different machinetypes or platform types. So the exact data served to build theinteractive window may depend in part on display device type, platformtype of the display device, server client location, display deviceidentification, etc.

In step 703, if the code is executed and the request data does not passthe evaluation the request to open a connection with the server isdenied and the process ends at step 705. The publisher has the ultimatecontrol over the distribution of the sever client code. The serverclient code can be pasted or “moved” by a user to other host locations.The publisher has final authority through the establishment of rulesrelative to successful execution and server interaction between theservice of the invention and users who wish to contact or interact withthe publisher or published content provided by the publisher through theinterface.

FIG. 9 is a process flow chart illustrating steps 800 for userinitiation of a contact action and server response according to anembodiment of the present invention. Process steps 800 begin after asever client code has been executed and the server has opened aconnection to the client and served an iPanel for display. At step 801,the user device displays the interactive window. At step 802, the usermay select an action button from the interactive window to initiate anaction relative to interaction with the publisher. This process assumesthe action selected is a communications related action such as atelephone request or a messaging request. Selection of the action instep 802 causes a second interactive window to display analogous towindows 300 or 400 described further above for enabling the user toinput source identity data and contact data at step 803.

At step 804, the user sends the request to initiate the action to theaction server over the opened server connection. At step 805, the serverreceives the request in queue and may begin processing the requestaccording to queue processing rules. At step 806, the server determinesif there are any constraints in place relative to the requested action.If there are no constraints in place or active then in step 808, theserver performs the requested action without any constraints. Theprocess ends at step 809. In step 806, if the server determines that oneor more constraints are active for the request then at step 807, theserver performs an action according to the applicable constraint orconstraints. The process ends at step 809. The server action in step 806may vary according to the exact rules in place at the time of therequest and can range from a service denial to performance of an actiontangential to the request. For example, if the request was to reach thepublisher by telephone and the publisher had a rule that users shouldleave a message between the time of 1:00 PM and 2:00 PM and the requestwas received at 1:30 PM then a voice service may be used to ask the userto leave a voice message for the publisher.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a facility 900 for designing andsaving interactive windows according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. Facility 900 represents a tool or design facility madeavailable to customers of the service of the invention to use fordesigning and configuring their iPanel attributes and features. Designfacility 900 may be provided as a server-based tool accessible throughconfiguration server component 112 b described with respect to FIG. 3above, or it may be provided as a customer desktop utility. In apreferred embodiment, customers use the service of the invention toprotect their contact information and use the facility to create theirown interactive iPanel configurations. A publisher may create as manyiPanel configurations as desired using the tool. Facility 900 may beprovided as part of a personal “Dashboard” interface that may be offeredto those who sign up to begin using the service.

In one embodiment configuration server component 112 b may also includea access for service knowledge workers or other authorized persons toview statistics of usage of the system. Such personnel may be authorizedto view both statistics of usage and activity of individual persona andthat of a group persona. If a branding service is used, a branding agentmay be authorized for viewing brand consumption statistics likeimpression and click-through usage statistics for a group orindividuals. Statistical reporting may be, in some cases pre-configured,and can be pushed to third party systems as regular reporting.Advertisers may also be authorized to view similar statistics like adservice statistics including impression and click-through stats.

Facility 900 includes a persona field 901 enabling a customer to enter aname or persona that they wish to represent them. Facility 900 includesa role field for a customer to enter a role for the window. The customermay use many name variation for the persona such as a nick name, sirname, first name, or handle. A role can be any position or title thecustomer chooses. A role may be chosen that is real, comedic, fictitiousor otherwise. A role can include a relationship statement such “goalieof the team and son of the coach”.

To illustrate one possible application, an iGroup may be assembled ofneighbors in a neighborhood to form a neighborhood watch iGroup. Membersof the group may have published pictures of their kids, pets, etc ontheir iPanels. A member may, if a pet or kid goes missing send an emailblast to all of the other group members including a picture,description, and concern statement. Such a blast may include an audiblecell phone alert and/or land line alert that will also be propagated toall of the members' cell phones and/or land lines if the situation is anemergency.

Facility 900 includes a window 903 and an associated browse button 904enabling the customer to upload a photo or relative media such as alikeness of the publisher. This photo, which may be an image, shortvideo, an animation, or a cartoon, may be connected to the role thepublisher is adopting for the window. A display view option 905 allowsthe customer to select how the interactive window will display accordingto provided options. In this case, the options are thumbnail view orface view.

A drop down color scheme menu 906 is provided to allow the customer toselect a color scheme for the interactive window. A range of colorschemes may be provided. The customer may develop his or her ownpersonal scheme in one embodiment using known design tools that may alsobe made available to the customer along with facility 900. In oneembodiment, branding is available where the publisher may select a“skin” artistically designed to dress the interactive window and topromote a specific brand authorized by the service.

Facility 900 includes one or more action option that a customer mayselect to include as user-selectable contact options in his or herinteractive window. The option Call includes a field 907 for enteringone or more telephone numbers. The option Email includes a field 908 forentering one or more email addresses. The option IM includes a set ofmessaging options 911 for enabling the customer to select which ofsupported IM messenger he or she wishes to use to receive messages. AnIM field 910 is also provided for entering the screen name of thecustomer for the messenger option selected.

A map option is provided with an address field for entering the addressor cross streets for a location the customer wishes to provide a map forand/or directions to. A profile option is provided with a field 913 forentering profile or bio text for the customer. The bio or profile textentered may relate to the role the customer has selected.

Facility 900 has a Save and Close option 914 for saving a currentconfiguration and then quitting. Facility 900 has a Save and New option915 for saving a current configuration and then staring a newinteractive window. Facility 900 also has a Cancel option for cancellinga current configuration. In one embodiment, a delete option may beprovided for deleting current interactive windows that are no longerdesired. In this case, each configuration is saved and can be recalledby the customer. The mapping service may be any known third-partyservice.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a facility 1000 for configuringaction constraints according to an embodiment of the present invention.Action constraint configuration facility 1000 may be a tool madeavailable through a dashboard interface along with configurationfacility 900 described above. Facility 1000 has a title bar 1001indicating the name and role of the owner of the interactive window thatconstraints are being configured for. In this example, the name and roleidentify the iPanel configuration for which constraints will beconfigured using facility 1000. In one embodiment, the name and roleindicia comprise name and role fields in which the name and role may bechanged to call up a constraint configuration window for anotherinteractive window. In one embodiment, facility 1000 may be invoked foran interactive window from the design facility used to create thewindow.

Facility 1000 has a workspace 1002 that may be scrollable depending onthe extent of content for display. In one embodiment, facility 1000 isgeneric and includes a data-entry box for entering the persona and roleidentifying the window and also includes set of drop down menus 1005. Afirst drop down menu is provided for selecting an action available tousers of the interactive window to configure constraints for. A seconddrop down menu is provided for selecting constraints to activate for theaction. In this case, the constraint selected for the persona Tai PanNetwork administrator and the action Email is Return to Sender.

Once the first part of the facility form is correctly filled a dynamicwindow appears to enable continued configuration according to a nextlogical step of associating a rule and email address to the constraintReturn to Sender. A dynamic window section 1003 contains related optionsfor continuing configuration of the constraint Return to Sender. A setof options is provided in window 1003 for activating the constraintReturn to Sender for all non-trusted identities or for only black listedidentities. An identity on a black list may be a name, and emailaddress, or both as an entry.

Configuration window 1003 includes a text box 1006 for entering one ormore email addresses or for selecting all email addresses to activatethe constraint for. Standard options Cancel, Default Settings (view),and Save are provided in the dynamic window. In one embodiment, thecustomer may continue to select constraints for the action email tobring up new dynamic windows to fill in until all of the desiredconstraints are activated for the desired email addresses.

After configuring constraints for email, the customer may select anotheraction to configure action constraints for such as Call/telephone. Inthis case the customer has selected the action “Call” and the constraint“Record Voice Message” from a dropdown menu set 1007. In one embodiment,there is only one drop down menu set for selecting actions andconstraints for configuration. For example, a customer may select anaction and configure all of the selected constraints for that action,and then select a next action in the same menu whereby the constraintsfor that action are selectable in the adjacent menu. The illustration oftwo menu sets is for illustrative purpose only.

After selecting an action and constraint, a dynamic window 1004 may beserved with configuration options 1008 presented. For the action Calland the constraint Record Voice Message, options 1008 include exemplaryoptions “Activate for all telephone numbers”; “Apply only when line isin use”; “Activate only for” followed by a text field for entering oneor more telephone numbers; and “Apply when line is not answered after _rings” where the space is adapted to accept a typed number. The optionsjust described are exemplary only. There may be more options presentedwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Inone embodiment custom rules may be created such as “Record voice messageif _ calls” where the blank is adapted to accept a name or sourcenumber.

Window 1004 contains some other options 1008, for example, one forrecording a greeting and on for uploading a pre-recorded greeting.Standard options for cancel, default settings (view) and save are alsoillustrated. In this example, facility 1000 is a scrollable facility.Certain configuration options may exist by default for all supportedaction constraints.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating an iGroup Panel 1200 andassociated member iPanel icons. As described further above in thisspecification, iPanel users may belong to a socially networked group ofindividuals defined by an iGroup Panel that may be administered by atrusted member of the group. As iPanels enable communication whileprotecting identity for individuals interacting with users, they mayalso used for intercommunication between iGroup members who respectidentity space amongst themselves. An iGroup may also be used topropagate any publishable materials to be shared by group members, themembers using individual IPanels to access the published materials.Example of these may include but are not limited to shared emailaddresses or contact points, group maps, video or other mediacollections, and the like.

iGroup panel is an iPanel interactive window executable from asever/client code just as the iPanel described further above. Therefore,interactive window 1200 is an iPanel used by a group administrator tomaintain and moderate group members illustrated in this example asiPanel icons 1201 visible within interactive window 1200. Icons 1201representing individual executable iPanels may be viewed differentlywithin window 1201 such as tall icons instead of wide icons, or a listview that lists the personae, roles, and any contact information andcontexts that are not protected masking contact values that areprotected. An option may exist for an administrator to view all contactinformation in list view in an unprotected manner.

In one embodiment, a list view of iGroup members iPanels may beassembled as the result of entering one or more tags applied toindividual members. For example, one may order a list of all of the“players” of an iGroup that is a hockey team by using the tag “players”to assemble the list. Players that have multiple tags such as playersand midfielders could be isolated quickly by using the additional tagmidfielders along with players to assemble the more granular list. Thisembodiment is not dependant on list view as the display be set foriconic view including wide view, tall view, or even a baseball cardstyle view of each member iPanel.

Interactive window 1200 as a distributable client can be distributed tohost locations such as Web pages or Web-integrated documents andapplications running on electronic appliances by inserting the codesnippet (client code) into the host page, application, or document.Execution of the code may occur upon a trigger as described relative toiPanel execution.

Interactive window 1200 representing an iGroup may be created through adashboard interface using a facility similar to facility 900 forconfiguring an iPanel for an individual. A group picture 1203 may beprovided in the form of a jpeg, gif, or png format. Likewise an audio oraudio video short presentation as well as animated cartoons or avatarsmay also be used instead of a still image. Depending on the groupidentity, an insignia or some other artistic rendering of a group logoor the like might be used. Some iGroups may be restricted for securityto members interacting within the confines of the group with no outsidecommunication. In this case authentication may be required to activatean iPanel of any of the group members in order to interact with thewindow features. Window 1200 includes a space for the name of the group(GROUP NAME) and for a role of the group (ROLE). An example might beGroup Name—United Church Women's Association and the Role of the groupmight be At Risk Youth Support Network.

Like an iPanel, an iGroup panel may include action buttons 1202 allowingusers who have executed the client code to display window 1200 to learnmore about the group (MISSION, NEWS, MEDIA), call the group (CALL),email the group (EMAIL), apply for group membership (JOIN), or requestsome other action relative to the group. The action buttons may besubject to rules and constraints as described relative to the iPanel.The identity protection features may also be extended to the groupaction options 1202 in general in some cases. For example, a secretsorority may require complete anonymity with respect to outside userswho may request interaction with one or more of the groups members whomay be unknown to the user. A law enforcement group or task force mayuse iGroup capabilities to receive information from outside the groupwithout compromising any information about the group or group members.

Members 1201 are each executable from interactive window 1200 by virtueof being nested as individual iPanels within the window. Therefore, auser who executes the iGroup code and displays window 1200 may navigatethrough members 1201 and execute the code for any one of them to receivean iPanel for communicating to that member. In this regard, publisherswho are members of the iGroup may contact other members through theiriPanels by executing them from the administration interface or from anyother distributed location. In one embodiment, an iGroup member maycontact another iGroup member by sending a message using the iPanel themessage including the client code for the requester's iPanel, which maybe executed in a displayed email message or from an IM interface. Anadministrator may, in one embodiment click edit within any of the membericons to open a configuration facility for editing that iPanel memberconfiguration. In one embodiment, iGroup members may be enabled to edittheir own configurations if desired, or the configurations of otherswhom are trusted. In one embodiment, an iGroup is a family network and amother, for example, may edit the iPanels of the father and all of thechildren/

It is noted herein that an iGroup panel is deployable and the individualiPanels associated with the group are also deployable. If a user notbelonging to the group executes any of the iGroup member panels, thepanels might contain indicia indicating that this member belongs to aniGroup and an action mode button for linking the user to a locationcontaining the iGroup panel. Therefore, communication can occurseparately using iPanels of iGroup members and those panels may provideaccess as well to the main group panel for communication to the entiregroup or for contacting other iGroup members or the administrator(s) ofthe group.

In the case of member to member communication within the boundaries ofthe iGroup, email correspondence may take place wherein eachparticipant's identity (email addresses) is protected from the other.Protection may also be one-way protection, for example, a pastor of achurch group and iGroup member may contact parishioners, also members ofthe group using their iPanels whereby the identities, contactinformation is withheld from the pastor. A student group having one ormore teachers mentoring them may also use identity protection affordedby the service to prevent the teachers from obtaining their cell phonenumbers, email addresses, IM handles, etc. Likewise the teachers maywish to protect their personal contact information from falling intostudent hands.

Window 1200 includes administrative options 1204 which include theoptions Edit, View, and Actions. Option 1204 (Edit) is an editing optionallowing the administrator to make configuration edits to the iGrouppanel using a dashboard configuration tool. Clicking on Edit may be ashortcut to the appropriate configuration facility. Option 1204 (View)enables the administrator to view members 1201 in iconic form (Tall orWide) or in list view form which includes all of the member detailsincluding contact information. One list view option provides theadministrator with an unprotected view of the members' details so all ofthe contact information is visible. Another list view option providesthe administrator with a protected view that masks the critical memberinformation that the members want protected. In one embodiment, anadministrator of an iGroup may only be allowed to view the protectedversion of the members list view.

A list view may be a column and row table where the columns identifymember attributes and rows identify the members. A column heading for alist view may appear as follows:

Member Settings Item Label Number-Address

Under the column heading “Member” for each row is the name and anoptional relationship statement of each member of the group. Under thecolumn heading “Settings” for each row are the role and any othersettings for each member. A setting option may be that of administratoror group member. There may be more than one administrator for a group.Also under settings, there may be one or more tags attributed to thegroup member. Such tags may be added to members' settings and can alsobe used in a search interface provided within window 1200 as searchcriteria for searching members of the group.

Under the column heading “Item”, for each row, the action itemsavailable for those members are listed such as phone, email, and mapthat might be listed for a specific member. Under the column heading“Label” for each row or the labels attached to each of the member'scontact identities and addresses. A label may be added like a tag andmay include work for a work number or address, home for a home number oraddress, the name of the group to specify a generic group number oraddress, mobile to specify a mobile number or address, and so on.

Under the column labeled “Number-Address” for each row are the actualmember contact numbers and addresses. Numbers and addresses that areprotected are not displayed and ones that are unprotected are visible.The numbers and addresses listed correspond to the labels provided inthe preceding column.

Administrative option 1204 (Actions) provides a drop-down list ofavailable actions that an administrator may take relative to the iGroupor members of the iGroup. The actions may include but or not limited tothe following:

1. New Member—Adding a new member to the iGroup.

2. Tag Member—Applying tags to members settings.

3. Edit Email Addresses—Updating email information.

4. Send Invitations All—Blasting invitations to all group members.

5. Create Email Addresses—Creating email addresses for group members foridentity routing purposes.

6. Import New Members—Importing new members from a file such as aprofile V-Card or the like.

7. Export Members—Exporting members from the iGroup to another iGroup orto a file for import into another application.

8. Delete Members—Deleting selected members from the iGroup

9. Delete All Members—Deleting all members from the group (groupdisbanding).

10. Delete iGroup—Removes reference to the iGroup anywhere in theservice.

The option 1204 (Edit) may bring up a configuration interface used tocreate the iGroup enabling the administrator of the group to editattributes of the group.

An administrator may edit the iGroup name including a long name and ashort name and the Role of the group. An administrator may change oredit the group picture 1203. An existing group picture may be swappedfor a group slide show or some other presentable media such as theoptions previously described.

An administrator may create a domain and sub-domain for the iGroup andconfigure the domain host or registrar. Options may be presented in theconfiguration facility for configuring, testing and deleting the domain.A domain is required for assignment of iGroup email addresses for all ofthe members.

An administrator may edit tags applied to members as described above andmay also configure email or voice “blasts” to be sent to members havingcertain tags. For a hockey team an email blast might be directions to atournament sent to all members having the tag “player” or “parent”. Inone embodiment, a WIKI application may be part of iGroup functionalitywherein each iGroup member may use the WIKI for group discussion,collaboration, and link-aggregation of resources. A WIKI application mayalso be provided to a single publisher iPanel and made available by anaction button to those who interact with that panel.

An administrator may register the iGroup to a general telephone servicenumber with further routing to member numbers performed based onidentity. The administrator may also configure IVR services for theiGroup. The administrator may register the iGroup for third-partymapping services so any member can provide maps and directions to theirlocations. iGroups may also have a general iGroup map created that mapsthe physical locations of addresses that are common and/or important tothe group. In an iGroup for example, a soccer team, the system mayprovide dynamically updated driving instructions to game locations thatmay part of an email blast to parents and players and that may beavailable to users accessing the iGroup interface.

An administrator may set the default member communications channels tobe made available to each member of the group. And may further specifywhich member locations are authorized for those channels. The editinterface or group configuration interface may be saved or canceledafter editing is complete. The actual interface may very in displayformat or appearance but may be similar in form to the configurationtools used to configure single iPanels and action constraintsillustrated in FIG. 10 (Facility 900).

In one embodiment of the invention an administrator may apply a calendarconstraint as presence information that may affect all of some membersof an iGroup in terms of communication states and action options. Forexample, if an iGroup is a traveling soccer team then presence state for“Players” may indicate “Game Time” in each of the player iPanels duringthe actual time the players are engaged in a soccer game. A userattempting to contact one of the players may see this presence state,which may also include the time that the player will be available forcommunication.

With reference to a publisher having multiple iPanels, new presenceterminology might be developed for indicating presence states. Rightafter work, an iPanel user might have a presence state “Play Time”configured to display to users. The state may automatically trigger apresence state of “Available” in one or more of the publishers moreleisurely personae.

It will be apparent to one with skill in the art that the actioninitiation system of the invention may be provided using some or all ofthe mentioned features and components without departing from the spiritand scope of the present invention. It will also be apparent to theskilled artisan that the embodiments described above are specificexamples of a single broader invention, which may have greater scopethan any of the singular descriptions taught. There may be manyalterations made in the descriptions without departing from the spiritand scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A first computerized appliance, comprising: aprocessor coupled to a data repository; one or more ports to one or morenetworks; and software (SW) executing on the processor from anon-transitory medium, the SW: enabling a user, hereinafter publisher,to create and store in the data repository a distributable client (DC)as a coded script capable to display, when executed, an interactiveiPanel on a display screen identifying a persona of the publisher, theiPanel having one or both of graphical indicia and text, and one or morecommand buttons capable to initiate a communication event directed tothe publisher; enabling the publisher to configure a rule set associatedwith the DC, the rule set when executed determining treatment of anycommunication event directed to the publisher; enabling the publisher topublish the DC to one of a Web page, a network-integrated application ora network-integrated electronic document executing on a secondcomputerized appliance connected to a common network with the firstcomputerized appliance; wherein a user interacting with the iPanelinitiates a communication event by operating one of the command buttons,the communication event directed to the publisher and identifying theinteracting user, and the SW at the first computerized appliance,receiving the communication event, executes the rule set associated withthe DC, and treats the communication request according to one or morerules in the set and any discoverable information regarding the userinitiating the communication request.
 2. The first computerizedappliance of claim 1 wherein the DC is published by the publisher to aplurality of locations, and wherein then location is considered intreatment of any received communication event.
 3. The first computerizedappliance of claim 1 wherein the publisher is a member of a group ofusers who collaborate in one or more zones, each zone having a set ofmembers and defined by a business or a social activity, and wherein therule set includes rules associated with zones, such that treatment of acommunication request is determined at the server at least in part onidentifying a zone for the communication requested and applying a ruleassociated with the zone.
 4. The first computerized appliance of claim 3wherein the publisher and individual ones of the members of zones usepersonae identification that may be different for different zones, anddetermination of a zone for a communication request is determined atleast in part by the personae identity of the publisher, the identity ofthe initiator of the request, or both.
 5. The first computerizedappliance of claim 1 wherein the publisher is a member of a group ofusers who collaborate in a trust network, individual members maintainingtrust metrics regarding other members and users, the rule set includesrules at least partly based on trust metrics, and wherein, upon receiptof a communication request, trust metrics are sought from members of thetrust network to aid in determining treatment for the communicationrequest.
 6. The first computerized appliance of claim 5 whereindetermining treatment includes determining if the user initiating thecommunication request is a member of the trust network.
 7. The firstcomputerized appliance of claim 6 wherein, if the user is not a memberof the trust network, a communication is sent to the user asking if theuser might wish to become a member of the trust network.
 8. The firstcomputerized appliance of claim 1 wherein the DC created is a Group DC,and comprises personae identity of a group of users.
 9. The firstcomputerized appliance of claim 8 wherein the group personae areassociated as members of a zone defined by a business activity or asocial activity.
 10. The first computerized appliance of claim 9 whereinthe members of the zone are associated in a trust network specific tothe zone.
 11. A method comprising steps: (a) enabling a user,hereinafter publisher, by execution of software (SW) from anon-transitory medium on a processor of a first computerized appliance,to create and store in a data repository coupled to the processor, adistributable client (DC) as a coded script capable to display, whenexecuted, an interactive iPanel on a display screen identifying apersona of the publisher, the iPanel having one or both of graphicalindicia and text, and one or more command buttons capable to initiate acommunication event directed to the publisher; (b) enabling thepublisher to configure a rule set associated with the DC, the rule setwhen executed determining treatment of any communication event directedto the publisher; (c) enabling the publisher to publish the DC to one ofa Web page, a network-integrated application or a network-integratedelectronic document executing on a second computerized applianceconnected to a common network with the first computerized appliance; (d)initiating a communication event by a user interacting with the iPanel,the user operating one of the command buttons, the communication eventdirected to the publisher and identifying the interacting user; (e)receiving the communication event at the first computerized appliance;and (f) executing the rule set associated with the DC, and treating thecommunication request according to one or more rules in the set and anydiscoverable information regarding the user initiating the communicationrequest.
 12. The method of claim 11 wherein the DC is published by thepublisher to a plurality of locations, and wherein then location isconsidered in treatment of any received communication event.
 13. Themethod of claim 11 wherein the publisher is a member of a group of userswho collaborate in one or more zones, each zone having a set of membersand defined by a business or a social activity, and wherein the rule setincludes rules associated with zones, such that treatment of acommunication request is determined at the server at least in part onidentifying a zone for the communication requested and applying a ruleassociated with the zone.
 14. The method of claim 13 wherein thepublisher and individual ones of the members of zones use personaeidentification that may be different for different zones, anddetermination of a zone for a communication request is determined atleast in part by the personae identity of the publisher, the identity ofthe initiator of the request, or both.
 15. The method of claim 11wherein the publisher is a member of a group of users who collaborate ina trust network, individual members maintaining trust metrics regardingother members and users, the rule set includes rules at least partlybased on trust metrics, and wherein, upon receipt of a communicationrequest, trust metrics are sought from members of the trust network toaid in determining treatment for the communication request.
 16. Themethod of claim 15 wherein determining treatment includes determining ifthe user initiating the communication request is a member of the trustnetwork.
 17. The method of claim 16 wherein, if the user is not a memberof the trust network, a communication is sent to the user asking if theuser might wish to become a member of the trust network.
 18. The methodof claim 11 wherein the DC created is a Group DC, and comprises personaeidentity of a group of users.
 19. The method of claim 18 wherein thegroup personae are associated as members of a zone defined by a businessactivity or a social activity.
 20. The method of claim 19 wherein themembers of the zone are associated in a trust network specific to thezone.